Volunteers are needed for Women on Target®, May 13, 2006.  Thanks to the February 4, 2006, Washington Post article that mentioned our event, we’ve had a tremendous response to our annual Women On Target® instructional shooting clinic. And that means we need more help. 
    Assistance is needed with donations (pick up donations from local merchants), registration (sign-in), refreshments (ice, drinks, coolers, etc.), lunch (set up and serving) and clean up (minimal clean up after lunch).
    Thank you to the following volunteers for coordinating ranges and instructors: Mike Bosley--Archery; Jim Hawkins and Jay Forman--Muzzleloading; Tom Ciarula--Pistol, Rifle; Dave Myers--Shotgun.
    Thanks also to Pam Meara for pre-registration. Our participants always note that working with our friendly and proficient instructors is the highlight of the event.
    If you would like to volunteer, please contact Beth Hellmann:    e-mail  wendyted@erols.com; (w) 703.267.1398  or (h) 703.978.8541.

    It has been a very productive Indoor season this winter, culminating with a strong showing of FTA members at the US Indoor National Championship. Three of the seven FTA members attending, June Goodenough, Roger Haun and Frank Kelley medaled at the regional level.
Fairfax Target Archers started the 2006 Outdoor season on the IWLA field April 2 with “Sight Setting Sunday”. Club 600s are planned for Sunday afternoons with picnics to follow. These Club 600s are very informal and an excellent way to learn the protocols of an archery competition. For more information and a schedule of these shoots see our website: http://www.fairfaxtargetarchers.org.
    The Mid-Atlantic Championship, a two-day NAA Star FITA event will be held on July 22-23. The Virginia State Championship will be held August 26 and is a one-day NAA Star FITA event. Both of these events require pre-registration. The schedule and registration forms will be available at the FTA website. If you or the family have never seen such a competition, we invite you to come out and watch. They are spectator friendly events.
    I used to gun hunt deer, but the season was short, practicing became routine and expensive, and permissions harder and harder to get. While griping at the range, someone told me: “If you want to hunt deer for six months (October through March) here in Fairfax County, you ought to go down the road and talk to the bowhunters at the Cub Run clubhouse.” At that time, I was really dumb. . . my only experience with bows was one that shot arrows with red suction cups on their ends.
    About Hunting & ‘Shooting’. What I found was that archery is a less expensive, all consuming and more exciting experience. Bow-hunting is just plain harder to do! You’ve got to get up close and personal. I had to learn to read sign, develop good tactics, learn not to fidget or smell, get close (like 15-20 yards) and still make the shot. I guess that I’m a slow learner--it took me three years to successfully bowhunt a deer. It was a special, jaw-dropping, heart-pumping experience. I was so excited, I couldn’t stand up after! Now I’ve become a confirmed archer (BOWHUNTER) because it’s never boring.
Now I willingly go to the range all year round because:
 •  Using a bow is NOT like riding a bike. It’s more like using a flying trapeze. You need constant practice to maintain your muscle tone and skills.
 • Once you own a set of equipment, practice is free.
 • Sometimes my bow doesn’t work right and I need advice or to use the club’s tools.
 • Lastly, I like the comradery--shooting with and learning from other archers (plus I’m always on the lookout for new hunting partners).
   About Practicing. Field archery offers a wide variety of practice opportunities.
 • There are targets inplace from 10 to 60 yards and it’s NOT 20 minutes between set-ups.
 • I can use animal (paper) targets, if I want.
 • I can walk in the ‘woods’ ad shoot at 28 different targets, at unusual/unmarked distances, uphill/downhill, kneeling, sitting, standing and/or from a tree stand.
 • On occasion, the targets are Club-provided, 3-D full-size foam animals.
 • There is even a 20-yard lighted, air-conditioned indoor range.
 • There’s equipment I can borrow.
 • There are people who will show me how to do stuff.
 • A full round (day) of practice costs $0—that’s right, NOTHING!
    About Joining. Our group is called Cub Run Archers. It’s open to any member of the Arlington-Fairfax Chapter. We do have some special events, so we collect $10 per family, per year in addition to the annual Chapter dues. To find us, you just go down to the very end of the entry road (past the rifle range) and turn left for the Cub Run Clubhouse. If you turn right, you’re at the pond. There’‘s usually someone around weekdays until noon and weekends all day. Our phone number is 703.631.4498.